According to estimates, 22 per cent of the total population of Bangladesh belong to the middle-class category, which is projected to reach 25 per cent by 2025 and 33 per cent by 2030. With the advent of coronavirus and the consequent gloomy economic prognosis thrust upon us by the pandemic, the scenario has changed.

According to findings of a study conducted by the Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) and the Brac Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), around 2.45 crore people – almost 14.75 percent of the country’s population – have become new poor owing to the economic shock caused by the pandemic. It clearly insinuates that the number of middle-class has definitely decreased as the ‘new poor’ were not poor beforehand, rather their deteriorating income has pushed them into this status.

Take a look at this narrative. Anwar Hossain, a 37-year-old man working in a private company, wakes up every morning with same kind of desperation and hastiness. He trims himself, followed by a decent breakfast, and then gives a narrow smile to his wife and finally, steps out of his place for office. The moment he begins his journey for workplace, his struggle begins as well.

At the very outset, rickshaw puller demands an additional amount putting the blame on the soaring prices of daily commodities. After a feisty exchange of words with the puller, Mr. Anwar is compelled (to some extent) to spend some extra penny as all other pullers will behave in the same way. Well, after reaching the bus stand, Mr. Anwar gets on a bus. There as well the bus conductor charges extra because of high price of gas/oil/diesel. Mr. Anwar is again left with no option other than giving extra fare.

After suffering all these, Mr. Anwar can make it to his office. Well, the readers can feel a bit relaxed at this point, but Mr. Anwar has no respite as he has to count extra money to have his lunch in the cafeteria as the canteen owner has increased lunch-fee due to escalating price of spices and other essentials. This is how Mr. Anwar has to expend a considerable amount of extra money every day to complete his day-to-day activities.

The above-mentioned incidents are fictitious, but a person like Mr. Anwar Hossain is defined as a member of middle-class in our society. He is not alone, rather he represents an economic class, fondly called as middle-class. Lodged between elite and penniless, middle-class people are counted in the general type who can neither ascend to aristocracy nor descend to penury. Such a dilemma sometimes could be the reason of great discomfort, caused by the inability to make ends meet. As a result, a middle-class man often suffers from some kind of restlessness owing to the fact that they are right in the middle of the country’s economic cycle, but they often find it difficult to cope with the changing economic norms.